Paint dripping onto ground under front bumper?!!

[FlyErik]

OK, this is a new one.....
After going on a walk this morning, I return to nice a blue-tinted puddle underneath the front left side of the bumper, just forward of the left front wheel well.... See pictures for detail. I ran my finger gently over the area and get a nice, sparkly paint on my finger! Anyone else have anything like this happen??? I bought the car in Nov 2018 and have never had any leaking paint before today. It's parked in the same driveway whenever I'm home, and it's rained many times before without issues.
As a side note the car IS front end wrapped with 3M paint protection film - which should cover that spot. I'll also ask my installer if he has any advice and post that info here if he has any insights.
Thanks in advance for any help, Tesla friends!

 

[Shateam]

It’s probably leaking coolant. Doubtful it’s paint.

 

[FlyErik]

It’s probably leaking coolant. Doubtful it’s paint.

Would it be that deep blue in color....?

 

[Uncle Paul]

Tesla, like Mercedes, uses a heavily tinted windshield washer solution. Might be that.

 

[FlyErik]

I've refilled my washer fluid quite a few times since I bought it, but I HAVE recently added a RainX Washer Additive, which is pink/orange in color. It just seemed strange that the fluid/paint/colored substance seemed to be above the bottom of the bumper area, with no signs of having leaked from above. This is a stumper, and the puddle is so blue. No such leaking or drips on any other part of the car.

 

[Uncle Paul]

FYI. Tesla recommends against RainX additives. Not sure why.

 

[TypeRx]

Most bizarre thing ever. The battery coolant (maybe a drive unit leak?) is blue....but that really does look like the blue metallic paint! LOL, I refuse to believe that your paint is spontaneously liquefying

Is the fluid watery or greasy?

If it was me, first thing I'd do is call the service center. Assuming you don't need to use your car right now, just put it in the garage or whatever. If you have some freetime, pull apart the frunk a bit and you may be able to find the source of your leak.Or, turn your wheel all the way to the left and pull off the fender liner to get a look (if it is dripping from behind there).

 

[Chris88]

Well this one stumps me, I have never seen any fluid yet that would match even close to that for a vehicle. But I haven't had much experience yet with the different types of fluids on a Tesla, maybe they have something this colour for one of their systems or components I'm not aware of.

Your paint would not be suddenly melting though, there has to be a logical explanation. As asked earlier how did the fluid fill on your fingers. What did it smell like? May sound odd, but did you taste it?

 

[Ritz]

I'm reasonably sure that's coolant for the battery. If your batteries overheat, the car will shut down and it will shorten the life of your battery pack. If I were you, I'd schedule service today and not drive it until it's fixed.

Best,

 

[Mrcarcrazy]

What’s it taste like? (Just seeing if we have a Darwin Award in the making).

are you screwing with us? Or serious? You know it’s not april 1st still.


If you’re serious, I concur with those above, assume it’s coolant until proven otherwise.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Brake fluid might be leaking, and that would take paint with it. Not sure how much of the under-parts are painted body color, though.

 

[Mrcarcrazy]

I’m betting on some sort of candy or crayon that melted. Or paintball or something. I don’t see a shell of a paintball though. Upon looking at the pics better looks like it’s on the outside of the bumper.

 

[Chris88]

What’s it taste like? (Just seeing if we have a Darwin Award in the making).

are you screwing with us? Or serious? You know it’s not april 1st still.


If you’re serious, I concur with those above, assume it’s coolant until proven otherwise.

So you've obviously never tasted coolant before. Probably just about everyone working in an automotive trade and several mechanically inclined individuals as well would know the taste. It's a quick test to aid in diagnosis as the type of glycol used in antifreeze tastes sweet.

Nobody is expecting him to fill up a glass and drink it. A dab on your tongue isn't much worse then what was already on his finger. Unless of course the OP lives in California. Apparently everything causes cancer in the state of California from what I read

 

[Scrannel]

So, check brake fluid level --check
Washer fluid level --check
After that, either battery coolant or your car is melting.

The idea that brake fluid is leaking onto some painted area, dissolving the paint (which it can do) and the whole mess drooling onto the ground is the most fun, by far.

 

[Mrcarcrazy]

So you've obviously never tasted coolant before. Probably just about everyone working in an automotive trade and several mechanically inclined individuals as well would know the taste. It's a quick test to aid in diagnosis as the type of glycol used in antifreeze tastes sweet.

Nobody is expecting him to fill up a glass and drink it. A dab on your tongue isn't much worse then what was already on his finger. Unless of course the OP lives in California. Apparently everything causes cancer in the state of California from what I read

Apparently you’ve never read sarcasm before...Some people.


But I don’t make a habit of consuming random liquids...maybe you do? It would explain a lot.

 

[stevein]

My car was leaking battery coolant a day after taking delivery and it was not that dark blue. It was more like blue gatorade and the consistency when rubbing on your fingers was very oily.

 

[kpeng]

lol

 

[RNMBA]

What’s the blue streak on the edge of your wheel well? It looks like a streak of blue paint to me!

 

[TLLMRRJ]

What’s the blue streak on the edge of your wheel well? It looks like a streak of blue paint to me!

That's a bingo!